Community Picking Game With Individual And Community Awards

ABSTRACT

A method is directed to conducting a community event in which a plurality of players at respective gaming terminals are participating. The method includes displaying the community event on one or more displays, and displaying a plurality of player-selectable elements for ach participating player on at least one of the one or more displays. The player-selectable elements include elements of a first type and a second type. In response to any participating player selecting an element of the first type, a controller is used to award an individual award associated with the selected element only to the selecting player. In response to any participating player selecting an element of the second type, a controller is used to award a community award associated with the selected element to all participating players.

REFERENCE To RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/256,262, filed Oct. 29, 2009, and titled“Community Picking Game With Individual And Community Awards,” which isincorporated herein in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patentfiles or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a gaming apparatus, andmethods for playing wagering games, and more particularly, to acommunity game in which player selections result in individual awardsand community awards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gaming terminals, such as slot machines, video poker machines and thelike, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years.Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent onthe likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machineand the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to otheravailable gaming options.

When conducting a wagering game, a player receives an individual awardif a winning outcome is achieved. For example, a winning outcome isachieved if a player selects a winning symbol from an array of mysterysymbols. The individual award is an award that is dedicated (orprovided) solely to the player.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method is directedto conducting a community event in which a plurality of players atrespective gaming terminals are participating. The method includesdisplaying the community event on one or more displays, and displaying aplurality of player-selectable elements for ach participating player onat least one of the one or more displays. The player-selectable elementsinclude elements of a first type and a second type. In response to anyparticipating player selecting an element of the first type, acontroller is used to award an individual award associated with theselected element only to the selecting player. In response to anyparticipating player selecting an element of the second type, acontroller is used to award a community award associated with theselected element to all participating players.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, computer readablestorage media is encoded with instructions for directing a gaming systemto perform the above method.

According to another aspect of the invention, a gaming system forplaying a community wagering game is directed to a community event inwhich a plurality of players at respective gaming terminals areparticipating. The gaming system includes one or more displays fordisplaying the community event thereon. The community event includes aplurality of player-selectable elements having elements of a first typeand a second type. The gaming system further includes at least onecontroller in communication with the one or more displays. Thecontroller is operative to, in response to any participating playerselecting an element of the first type, award an individual awardassociated with the selected element of the first type only to theselecting player. The controller is further operative to, in response toany participating player selecting an element of the second type, awarda community award associated with the selected element of the secondtype to all participating players.

Additional aspects of the invention will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of variousembodiments, which is made with reference to the drawings, a briefdescription of which is provided below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a free-standing gaming terminalaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a gaming system according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an image of an exemplary basic-game screen of a wagering gamedisplayed on a gaming terminal, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating a gaming system having a communitydisplay and a plurality of gaming terminals.

FIG. 5A is an image of a picking bonus game for a first pair of gamingterminals of the gaming system shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5B is an image of a picking bonus game for a second pair of gamingterminals of the gaming system shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an image of the picking bonus game for a first gaming terminalof FIG. 5A.

FIG. 7 is an image of the picking bonus game of FIG. 6 illustrating anindividual player award.

FIG. 8 is an image of the picking bonus game of FIG. 6 illustrating acommunity player award.

FIG. 9A is an image of the picking bonus game for the first pair ofgaming terminals shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9B is an image of the picking bonus game shown in FIG. 9Aillustrating the second pair of gaming terminals.

FIG. 10 is an image of a community bonus game in which each of theplayers is awarded a selection from a plurality of selections.

FIG. 11 is an image of the community bonus game of FIG. 10 illustratingawards provided to the players.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. Itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to belimited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described indetail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understandingthat the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification ofthe principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broadaspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a gaming terminal 10 similar tothose used in gaming establishments, such as casinos. With regard to thepresent invention, the gaming terminal 10 may be any type of gamingterminal and may have varying structures and methods of operation. Forexample, in some aspects, the gaming terminal 10 is be anelectromechanical gaming terminal configured to play mechanical slots,whereas in other aspects, the gaming terminal is an electronic gamingterminal configured to play a video casino game, such as slots, keno,poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, etc. It should be understood thatalthough the gaming terminal 10 is shown as a free-standing terminal ofthe upright type, the gaming terminal is readily amenable toimplementation in a wide variety of other forms such as a free-standingterminal of the slant-top type, a portable or handheld device primarilyused for gaming, such as is disclosed by way of example in PCT PatentApplication No. PCT/US2007/000792 filed Jan. 26, 2007, titled “HandheldDevice for Wagering Games,” which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety, a mobile telecommunications device such as a mobiletelephone or personal digital assistant (PDA), a counter-top or bar-topgaming terminal, or other personal electronic device, such as a portabletelevision, MP3 player, entertainment device, etcetera.

The gaming terminal 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a cabinet orhousing 12. For output devices, this embodiment of the gaming terminal10 includes a primary display area 14, a secondary display area 16, andone or more audio speakers 18. The primary display area 14 and/orsecondary display area 16 variously displays information associated withwagering games, non-wagering games, community games, progressives,advertisements, services, premium entertainment, text messaging, emails,alerts or announcements, broadcast information, subscriptioninformation, etc. appropriate to the particular mode(s) of operation ofthe gaming terminal. For input devices, the gaming terminal 10illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a bill validator 20, a coin acceptor 22,one or more information readers 24, one or more player-input devices 26,and one or more player-accessible ports 28 (e.g., an audio output jackfor headphones, a video headset jack, a wireless transmitter/receiver,etc.). While these typical components found in the gaming terminal 10are described below, it should be understood that numerous otherperipheral devices and other elements exist and are readily utilizablein any number of combinations to create various forms of a gamingterminal in accord with the present concepts.

The primary display area 14 include, in various aspects of the presentconcepts, a mechanical-reel display, a video display, or a combinationthereof in which a transmissive video display is disposed in front ofthe mechanical-reel display to portray a video image in superpositionover the mechanical-reel display. Further information concerning thelatter construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,433 to Loose etal. entitled “Reel Spinning Slot Machine With Superimposed Video Image,”which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The videodisplay is, in various embodiments, a cathode ray tube (CRT), ahigh-resolution liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, a lightemitting diode (LED), a DLP projection display, an electroluminescent(EL) panel, or any other type of display suitable for use in the gamingterminal 10, or other form factor, such as is shown by way of example inFIG. 1. The primary display area 14 includes, in relation to manyaspects of wagering games conducted on the gaming terminal 10, one ormore paylines 30 (see FIG. 3) extending along a portion of the primarydisplay area. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, the primarydisplay area 14 comprises a plurality of mechanical reels 32 and a videodisplay 34, such as a transmissive display (or a reflected imagearrangement in other embodiments), in front of the mechanical reels 32.If the wagering game conducted via the gaming terminal 10 relies uponthe video display 34 only and not the mechanical reels 32, themechanical reels 32 are optionally removed from the interior of theterminal and the video display 34 is advantageously of anon-transmissive type. Similarly, if the wagering game conducted via thegaming terminal 10 relies only upon the mechanical reels 32, but not thevideo display 34, the video display 34 depicted in FIG. 1 is replacedwith a conventional glass panel. Further, in still other embodiments,the video display 34 is disposed to overlay another video display,rather than a mechanical-reel display, such that the primary displayarea 14 includes layered or superimposed video displays. In yet otherembodiments, the mechanical-reel display of the above-noted embodimentsis replaced with another mechanical or physical member or members suchas, but not limited to, a mechanical wheel (e.g., a roulette game),dice, a pachinko board, or a diorama presenting a three-dimensionalmodel of a game environment.

Video images in the primary display area 14 and/or the secondary displayarea 16 are rendered in two-dimensional (e.g., using Flash Macromedia™)or three-dimensional graphics (e.g., using Renderware™). In variousaspects, the video images are played back (e.g., from a recording storedon the gaming terminal 10), streamed (e.g., from a gaming network), orreceived as a TV signal (e.g., either broadcast or via cable) and suchimages can take different forms, such as animated images,computer-generated images, or “real-life” images, either prerecorded(e.g., in the case of marketing/promotional material) or as livefootage. The format of the video images can include any formatincluding, but not limited to, an analog format, a standard digitalformat, or a high-definition (HD) digital format.

The player-input or user-input device(s) 26 include, by way of example,a plurality of buttons 36 on a button panel, as shown in FIG. 1, amouse, a joy stick, a switch, a microphone, and/or a touch screen 38mounted over the primary display area 14 and/or the secondary displayarea 16 and having one or more soft touch keys 40, as is also shown inFIG. 1. In still other aspects, the player-input devices 26 comprisetechnologies that do not rely upon physical contact between the playerand the gaming terminal, such as speech-recognition technology,gesture-sensing technology, eye-tracking technology, etc. Theplayer-input or user-input device(s) 26 thus accept(s) player input(s)and transforms the player input(s) to electronic data signals indicativeof a player input or inputs corresponding to an enabled feature for suchinput(s) at a time of activation (e.g., pressing a “Max Bet” button orsoft key to indicate a player's desire to place a maximum wager to playthe wagering game). The input(s), once transformed into electronic datasignals, are output to a CPU or controller 42 (see FIG. 2) forprocessing. The electronic data signals are selected from a groupconsisting essentially of an electrical current, an electrical voltage,an electrical charge, an optical signal, an optical element, a magneticsignal, and a magnetic element.

The information reader 24 (or information reader/writer) is preferablylocated on the front of the housing 12 and comprises, in at least someforms, a ticket reader, card reader, bar code scanner, wirelesstransceiver (e.g., RFID, Bluetooth, etc.), biometric reader, orcomputer-readable-storage-medium interface. As noted, the informationreader may comprise a physical and/or electronic writing element topermit writing to a ticket, a card, or computer-readable-storage-medium.The information reader 24 permits information to be transmitted from aportable medium (e.g., ticket, voucher, coupon, casino card, smart card,debit card, credit card, etc.) to the information reader 24 to enablethe gaming terminal 10 or associated external system to access anaccount associated with cashless gaming, to facilitate player trackingor game customization, to retrieve a saved-game state, to store acurrent-game state, to cause data transfer, and/or to facilitate accessto casino services, such as is more fully disclosed, by way of example,in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0045354 entitled “Portable Data Unitfor Communicating With Gaming Machine Over Wireless Link,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The noted accountassociated with cashless gaming is, in some aspects of the presentconcepts, stored at an external system 46 (see FIG. 2) as more fullydisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,328 to Holch et al. entitled “CashlessComputerized Video Game System and Method,” which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety, or is alternatively stored directly on theportable storage medium. Various security protocols or features can beused to enhance security of the portable storage medium. For example, insome aspects, the individual carrying the portable storage medium isrequired to enter a secondary independent authenticator (e.g., password,PIN number, biometric, etc.) to access the account stored on theportable storage medium.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the various components of the gaming terminal 10are controlled by one or more processors (e.g., CPU, distributedprocessors, etc.) 42, also referred to herein generally as a controller(e.g., microcontroller, microprocessor, etc.). The controller 42 caninclude any suitable processor(s), such as an Intel® Pentium processor,Intel® Core 2 Duo processor, AMD Opteron™ processor, or UltraSPARC®processor. By way of example, the controller 42 includes a plurality ofmicroprocessors including a master processor, a slave processor, and asecondary or parallel processor. Controller 42, as used herein,comprises any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmwaredisposed in and/or disposed outside of the gaming terminal 10 that isconfigured to communicate with and/or control the transfer of databetween the gaming terminal 10 and a bus, another computer, processor,or device and/or a service and/or a network. The controller 42 comprisesone or more controllers or processors and such one or more controllersor processors need not be disposed proximal to one another and may belocated in different devices and/or in different locations. For example,a first processor is disposed proximate a user interface device (e.g., apush button panel, a touch screen display, etc.) and a second processoris disposed remotely from the first processor, the first and secondprocessors being electrically connected through a network. As anotherexample, the first processor is disposed in a first enclosure (e.g., agaming machine) and a second processor is disposed in a second enclosure(e.g., a server) separate from the first enclosure, the first and secondprocessors being communicatively connected through a network. Thecontroller 42 is operable to execute all of the various gaming methodsand other processes disclosed herein.

To provide gaming functions, the controller 42 executes one or more gameprograms comprising machine-executable instructions stored in localand/or remote computer-readable data storage media (e.g., memory 44 orother suitable storage device). The term computer-readable data storagemedia, or “computer-readable medium,” as used herein refers to anymedia/medium that participates in providing instructions to controller42 for execution. The computer-readable medium comprises, in at leastsome exemplary forms, non-volatile media (e.g., optical disks, magneticdisks, etc.), volatile media (e.g., dynamic memory, RAM), andtransmission media (e.g., coaxial cables, copper wire, fiber optics,radio frequency (RF) data communication, infrared (IR) datacommunication, etc). Common forms of computer-readable media include,for example, a hard disk, magnetic tape (or other magnetic medium), a2-D or 3-D optical disc (e.g., a CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or solid state digital data storagedevice, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer canread. By way of example, a plurality of storage media or devices areprovided, a first storage device being disposed proximate the userinterface device and a second storage device being disposed remotelyfrom the first storage device, wherein a network is connectedintermediate the first one and second one of the storage devices.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to controller 42 forexecution. By way of example, the instructions may initially be borne ona data storage device of a remote device (e.g., a remote computer,server, or system). The remote device can load the instructions into itsdynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line or othercommunication path using a modem or other communication deviceappropriate to the communication path. A modem or other communicationdevice local to the gaming machine 10 or to an external system 46associated with the gaming machine can receive the data on the telephoneline or conveyed through the communication path (e.g., via externalsystems interface 58) and output the data to a bus, which transmits thedata to the system memory 44 associated with the processor 42, fromwhich system memory the processor retrieves and executes theinstructions.

Thus, the controller 42 is able to send and receive data, via carriersignals, through the network(s), network link, and communicationinterface. The data includes, in various examples, instructions,commands, program code, player data, and game data. As to the game data,in at least some aspects of the present concepts, the controller 42 usesa local random number generator (RNG) to randomly generate a wageringgame outcome from a plurality of possible outcomes. Alternatively, theoutcome is centrally determined using either an RNG or pooling scheme ata remote controller included, for example, within the external system46.

As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the controller 42 is coupled to thesystem memory 44. The system memory 44 is shown to comprise a volatilememory (e.g., a random-access memory (RAM)) and a non-volatile memory(e.g., an EEPROM), but optionally includes multiple RAM and multipleprogram memories.

As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the controller 42 is also coupled toa money/credit detector 48. The money/credit detector 48 is configuredto output a signal the controller 42 that money and/or credits have beeninput via one or more value-input devices, such as the bill validator20, coin acceptor 22, or via other sources, such as a cashless gamingaccount, etc. The value-input device(s) is integrated with the housing12 of the gaming terminal 10 and is connected to the remainder of thecomponents of the gaming terminal 10, as appropriate, via a wiredconnection, such as I/O 56, or wireless connection. The money/creditdetector 48 detects the input of valid funds into the gaming terminal 10(e.g., via currency, electronic funds, ticket, card, etc.) via thevalue-input device(s) and outputs a signal to the controller 42 carryingdata regarding the input value of the valid funds. The controller 42extracts the data from these signals from the money/credit detector 48,analyzes the associated data, and transforms the data corresponding tothe input value into an equivalent credit balance that is available tothe player for subsequent wagers on the gaming terminal 10, suchtransforming of the data being effected by software, hardware, and/orfirmware configured to associate the input value to an equivalent creditvalue. Where the input value is already in a credit value form, such asin a cashless gaming account having stored therein a credit value, thewager is simply deducted from the available credit balance.

As seen in FIG. 2, the controller 42 is also connected to, and controls,the primary display area 14, the player-input device(s) 26, and a payoffmechanism 50. The payoff mechanism 50 is operable in response toinstructions from the controller 42 to award a payoff to the player inresponse to certain winning outcomes that occur in the base game, thebonus game(s), or via an external game or event. The payoff is providedin the form of money, credits, redeemable points, advancement within agame, access to special features within a game, services, anotherexchangeable media, or any combination thereof. Although payoffs may bepaid out in coins and/or currency bills, payoffs are alternativelyassociated with a coded ticket (from a ticket printer 52), a portablestorage medium or device (e.g., a card magnetic strip), or aretransferred to or transmitted to a designated player account. The payoffamounts distributed by the payoff mechanism 50 are determined by one ormore pay tables stored in the system memory 44.

Communications between the controller 42 and both the peripheralcomponents of the gaming terminal 10 and the external system 46 occurthrough input/output (I/O) circuit 56, which can include any suitablebus technologies, such as an AGTL+ frontside bus and a PCI backside bus.Although the I/O circuit 56 is shown as a single block, it should beappreciated that the I/O circuit 56 alternatively includes a number ofdifferent types of I/O circuits. Furthermore, in some embodiments, thecomponents of the gaming terminal 10 can be interconnected according toany suitable interconnection architecture (e.g., directly connected,hypercube, etc.).

The I/O circuit 56 is connected to an external system interface orcommunication device 58, which is connected to the external system 46.The controller 42 communicates with the external system 46 via theexternal system interface 58 and a communication path (e.g., serial,parallel, IR, RC, 10bT, near field, etc.). The external system 46includes, in various aspects, a gaming network, other gaming terminals,a gaming server, a remote controller, communications hardware, or avariety of other interfaced systems or components, in any combination.In yet other aspects, the external system 46 may comprise a player'sportable electronic device (e.g., cellular phone, electronic wallet,etc.) and the external system interface 58 is configured to facilitatewireless communication and data transfer between the portable electronicdevice and the controller 42, such as by a near field communication pathoperating via magnetic field induction or a frequency-hopping spreadspectrum RF signals (e.g., Bluetooth, etc.).

The gaming terminal 10 optionally communicates with external system 46(in a wired or wireless manner) such that each terminal operates as a“thin client” having relatively less functionality, a “thick client”having relatively more functionality, or with any range of functionalitytherebetween (e.g., an “intermediate client”). In general, a wageringgame includes an RNG for generating a random number, game logic fordetermining the outcome based on the randomly generated number, and gameassets (e.g., art, sound, etc.) for presenting the determined outcome toa player in an audio-visual manner. The RNG, game logic, and game assetsare contained within the gaming terminal 10 (“thick client” gamingterminal), the external systems 46 (“thin client” gaming terminal), orare distributed therebetween in any suitable manner (“intermediateclient” gaming terminal).

Referring now to FIG. 3, an image of a basic-game screen 60 adapted tobe displayed on the primary display area 14 is illustrated, according toone embodiment of the present invention. A player begins play of a basicwagering game by providing a wager. A player can operate or interactwith the wagering game using the one or more player-input devices 26.The controller 42, the external system 46, or both, in alternativeembodiments, operate(s) to execute a wagering game program causing theprimary display area 14 to display the wagering game that includes aplurality of visual elements.

In accord with various methods of conducting a wagering game on a gamingsystem in accord with the present concepts, the wagering game includes agame sequence in which a player makes a wager, such as through themoney/credit detector 48, touch screen 38 soft key, button panel, or thelike, and a wagering game outcome is associated with the wager. Thewagering game outcome is then revealed to the player in due coursefollowing initiation of the wagering game. The method comprises the actsof conducting the wagering game using a gaming apparatus, such as thegaming terminal 10 depicted in FIG. 1, following receipt of an inputfrom the player to initiate the wagering game. The gaming terminal 10then communicates the wagering game outcome to the player via one ormore output devices (e.g., primary display 14) through the display ofinformation such as, but not limited to, text, graphics, text andgraphics, static images, moving images, etc., or any combinationthereof. In accord with the method of conducting the wagering game, thecontroller 42, which comprises one or more processors, transforms aphysical player input, such as a player's pressing of a “Spin Reels”soft key 84 (see FIG. 3), into an electronic data signal indicative ofan instruction relating to the wagering game (e.g., an electronic datasignal bearing data on a wager amount).

In the aforementioned method, for each data signal, the controller 42 isconfigured to processes the electronic data signal, to interpret thedata signal (e.g., data signals corresponding to a wager input), and tocause further actions associated with the interpretation of the signalin accord with computer instructions relating to such further actionsexecuted by the controller. As one example, the controller 42 causes therecording of a digital representation of the wager in one or morestorage devices (e.g., system memory 44 or a memory associated with anexternal system 46), the controller, in accord with associated computerinstructions, causing the changing of a state of the data storage devicefrom a first state to a second state. This change in state is, forexample, effected by changing a magnetization pattern on a magneticallycoated surface of a magnetic storage device or changing a magnetic stateof a ferromagnetic surface of a magneto-optical disc storage device, achange in state of transistors or capacitors in a volatile or anon-volatile semiconductor memory (e.g., DRAM), etc.). The noted secondstate of the data storage device comprises storage in the storage deviceof data representing the electronic data signal from the controller(e.g., the wager in the present example). As another example, thecontroller 42 further, in accord with the execution of the instructionsrelating to the wagering game, causes the primary display 14 or otherdisplay device and/or other output device (e.g., speakers, lights,communication device, etc.), to change from a first state to at least asecond state, wherein the second state of the primary display comprisesa visual representation of the physical player input (e.g., anacknowledgement to a player), information relating to the physicalplayer input (e.g., an indication of the wager amount), a game sequence,an outcome of the game sequence, or any combination thereof, wherein thegame sequence in accord with the present concepts comprises actsdescribed herein. The aforementioned executing of computer instructionsrelating to the wagering game is further conducted in accord with arandom outcome (e.g., determined by the RNG) that is used by thecontroller 42 to determine the outcome of the game sequence, using agame logic for determining the outcome based on the randomly generatednumber. In at least some aspects, the controller 42 is configured todetermine an outcome of the game sequence at least partially in responseto the random parameter.

The basic-game screen 60 is displayed on the primary display area 14 ora portion thereof. In FIG. 3, the basic-game screen 60 portrays aplurality of simulated movable reels 62 a-e. Alternatively oradditionally, the basic-game screen 60 portrays a plurality ofmechanical reels or other video or mechanical presentation consistentwith the game format and theme. The basic-game screen 60 alsoadvantageously displays one or more game-session meters and variousbuttons adapted to be actuated by a player.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3, the game-session meters includea “credit” meter 64 for displaying a number of credits available forplay on the terminal; a “lines” meter 66 for displaying a number ofpaylines to be played by a player on the terminal; a “line bet” meter 68for displaying a number of credits wagered (e.g., from 1 to 5 or morecredits) for each of the number of paylines played; a “total bet” meter70 for displaying a total number of credits wagered for the particularround of wagering; and a “paid” meter 72 for displaying an amount to beawarded based on the results of the particular round's wager. Thedepicted user-selectable buttons include a “collect” button 74 tocollect the credits remaining in the credits meter 64; a “help” button76 for viewing instructions on how to play the wagering game; a “paytable” button 78 for viewing a pay table associated with the basicwagering game; a “select lines” button 80 for changing the number ofpaylines (displayed in the lines meter 66) a player wishes to play; a“bet per line” button 82 for changing the amount of the wager which isdisplayed in the line-bet meter 68; a “spin reels” button 84 for movingthe reels 62 a-e; and a “max bet spin” button 86 for wagering a maximumnumber of credits and moving the reels 62 a-e of the basic wageringgame. While the gaming terminal 10 allows for these types of playerinputs, the present invention does not require them and can be used ongaming terminals having more, less, or different player inputs.

As shown in the example of FIG. 3, paylines 30 extend from one of thepayline indicators 88 a-i on the left side of the basic-game screen 60to a corresponding one of the payline indicators 88 a-i on the rightside of the screen 60. A plurality of symbols 90 is displayed on theplurality of reels 62 a-e to indicate possible outcomes of the basicwagering game. A winning combination occurs when the displayed symbols90 correspond to one of the winning symbol combinations listed in a paytable stored in the memory 44 of the terminal 10 or in the externalsystem 46. The symbols 90 may include any appropriate graphicalrepresentation or animation, and may further include a “blank” symbol.

Symbol combinations are evaluated in accord with various schemes suchas, but not limited to, “line pays” or “scatter pays.” Line pays areevaluated left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, orany combination thereof by evaluating the number, type, or order ofsymbols 90 appearing along an activated payline 30. Scatter pays areevaluated without regard to position or paylines and only require thatsuch combination appears anywhere on the reels 62 a-e. While anembodiment with nine paylines is shown, a wagering game with nopaylines, a single payline, or any plurality of paylines will also workwith the present invention. Additionally, though an embodiment with fivereels is shown in FIG. 3, different embodiments of the gaming terminal10 comprise a greater or lesser number of reels in accordance with thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a gaming system or bank 400 includes a communitydisplay 402 having two adjacent display screens 404, 406. The communitydisplay 402 is communicatively coupled to a plurality of gamingterminals 408 a-408 d, which are optionally located below the communitydisplay 402. The gaming terminals 408 a-408 d are of the type describedabove in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 and include respective display areas410 a-410 d.

The community game is displayed on the display screens 404, 406 and onthe display areas 410 a-410 d. According to the illustrated embodiment,the community game has a Monopoly Big Money Spin game theme. Based onvarious triggering events, one or more community games, including bonusgames, can be conducted on the gaming system 400 by eligible players.

One exemplary type of triggering event can be a mystery trigger. Forexample, a server randomly picks a random number every few millisecondsand triggers the community game if the random number equals apredetermined number or if the random number is within a predeterminednumber range. Another type of triggering event can occur at regularintervals. For example, the server triggers the community game at fixedtime intervals, such as once every 20 minutes. Yet another type of atriggering event can be a symbol trigger. For example, the occurrence ofa particular symbol or symbol combination in any of the wagering gameslinked to the community game triggers the community game.

Player eligibility for participating in the community came can bedetermined in various ways. For example, different criteria can be used,generally, for any player who has been actively playing one of thelinked wagering games at the time of the trigger. The criteria can bemeasured, for example, based on game play. According to one embodiment,a player earns an incrementing multiplier or time eligibility throughgame play. Based on the earned multiplier or time eligibility, theplayer can be deemed eligible for participating in the community game.For example, if the earned multiplier is at least a 3× multiplier or ifthe time eligibility is at least 30 seconds, the player is eligible forparticipating in the community game.

Referring to FIGS. 5A-5B, a community bonus game has a plurality (e.g.,an array or field) of player-selectable elements and is conducted on thegaming bank 400. One or more of the player-selectable elements yieldindividual awards and one or more of the elements yield communityawards. The individual awards are awarded to only one of the eligibleplayers in the community game, and the community awards are awarded toall eligible players in the community game. The awards can have manyforms, including, for example, credit values, multipliers, game play(e.g., number of free spins), etc.

The bonus game is triggered by an event in which a predetermined symboloccurs in a particular manner. For example, according to an ElectricCompany bonus game, the triggering event is an Electric Company reelsymbol or a combination of Electric Company reel symbols that appears inan introductory segment of a community event such as Mr. Monopoly BigMoney Spin. According to another example, the triggering event is theElectric Company symbol landing on an Electric Company property of aMonopoly® board while conducting a Monopoly® theme game. For additionalinformation regarding Monopoly® theme games, the reader is referred tocommonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,660 B1, titled “Gaming MachinesWith Board Game Theme” and issued Nov. 13, 2001, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Each of the display screens 404, 406 displays two bonus screens orimages corresponding to two of the display areas 410 a-410 d.Specifically, a left display screen 404 displays a first bonus screen500 a corresponding to a first display area 410 a, on which a firstplayer is conducting the bonus game. The left display screen 404 alsodisplays a second bonus screen 500 b corresponding to a second displayarea 410 b, on which a second player is conducting the bonus game. Aright display screen 406 displays a third bonus screen 500 ccorresponding to a third display area 410 c, on which a third player isconducting the bonus game. The right display screen 406 also displays afourth bonus screen 500 d corresponding to a fourth display area 410 c,on which a fourth player is conducting the bonus game.

Each of the bonus screens 500 a-500 d includes an award region 502 and aselection region 504. The award region 502 includes a plurality of awardindicia 506 showing value amounts that are indicative of differentawards. For example, the awards include a 5000 credit award, a 1000credit award, a 100 credit award, etc.

The selection region 504 shows a plurality of selections (or picks) 508,which are generally symbols that are selectable by a player to reveal ahidden (or mystery) outcome. For example, the hidden outcome can be anaward such as a credit award.

A Player Wins region 510 is displayed below each selection region 504and an Everyone Wins region 512 a-512 b is displayed in each of thedisplay screens 404, 406. Specifically, a left Everyone Wins region 512a is displayed above the first bonus screen 500 a and the second bonusscreen 500 b, and a right Everyone Wins region 512 b is displayed abovethe third bonus screen 500 c and the fourth bonus screen 500 d.

For each of the bonus screens 500 a-500 d, a first connector tube 514connects the Player Wins region 510 with the selection region 504.Similarly, a second connector tube 516 connects the selection region 504with the award region 502, and a third connector tube 518 connects theaward region 502 with a respective one of the Everyone Wins regions 512a, 521 b.

The display areas 410 a-410 d (which correspond to gaming terminals 408a-408 d) generally replicate the selection region 504 in a correspondingplayer region 520. The player region 520 has an array of selectableelements 522 corresponding to the selections 508. A pair of displayconnector tubes 524 connects the player region 520 to a Player Wins area526.

Each of the display areas 410 a-410 d includes a pick indicator 528,which identifies the number of picks that are available to the player,and a multiplier indicator 530, which identifies the current Big EventMultiplier that will be applied to a player's wins. The number of picksand multipliers may vary from player to player. For example, accordingto an illustrative embodiment, although each player has 5 availablepicks, the first player has a 3× multiplier, the second player has a 1×multiplier, the third player has a 9× multiplier, and the fourth playerhas a 2× multiplier. For additional information regarding Big EventMultipliers, the reader is referred to commonly-assigned U.S. patentapplication Publication No. 2006/0135243, titled “Gaming Machine HavingA Community Game With Side Wagering,” published Jun. 22, 2006, and U.S.patent application Publication No. 2009/0042641, titled “Wagering GameWith Time-Based Bonus,” published Feb. 12, 2009, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The display areas 410 a-410 d further include an auto-pick notification.According to one example, if the player fails to make a selection within7 seconds, a selectable element 522 will be automatically selected forthe player. For example, the automatic selection can be a randomselection made by a controller.

Referring to FIG. 6, the display area 410 a of the first player showsthat the player begins the bonus game with all selectable elements 522being in an unselected state. The selectable elements 522 are in theform of a tile array, e.g., a 5×5 array, in which each selectableelement 522 is displayed as a separate tile having a graphical symbol,e.g., a light bulb. The other display areas 410 b-410 d show therespective players a similar tile array.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first player picks from the selectable elements522 to reveal a symbol indicative of an award. For example, a first pickhas resulted in a 25 credit award 522 a, a second pick has resulted in a100 credit award 522 b, and a third pick has resulted in a 5 creditaward 522 c. The total individual award that is provided only to thefirst player is 130 credits, as shown in the Player Wins area 526. Aftermaking the three picks, the player has 2 picks remaining, as shown inthe pick indicator 528.

Other players can make picks from their respective display areas 410c-410 d to win respective individual player awards. For example, asshown in FIGS. 9A-9B, the second player has made two picks for a totalindividual award of 100 credits, the third player has made three picksfor a total individual award of 80 credits, and the fourth player hasmade one pick for a total individual award of 200 credits. Thus, theindividual awards are specific to the player.

Referring to FIG. 8, an Everyone Wins Big Event Bonus award is triggeredwhen any player that is participating in the bonus game selects anEveryone Wins tile. For example, the first player's fourth pick hasrevealed an Everyone Wins symbol 522 d, which is indicative of acommunity award that is awarded to all the eligible players.

Referring to FIGS. 9A-9B, in response to the Everyone Wins symbol 522 dbeing revealed, a Mr. Monopoly FIG. 900 is illustrated in the firstbonus screen 500 a, which is associated with the first player. The Mr.Monopoly figure 900 pulls a lever over the triggering player, i.e., thefirst player, and one by one the award indicia 506 “blow out,” leavingone or more award indicia 506 “on” or illuminated to identify theawarded value. The sequence of the Mr. Monopoly figure 900 pulling thelever is, then, sequentially illustrated in the second bonus screen 500b, the third bonus screen 500 c, and the fourth bonus screen 500 d. Thecommunity award is a cumulative award from the award indicia 506 of eachof the bonus screens 500 a-500 d

All eligible players on the bank 400 are awarded the remaining valuesafter the sequence of “blowing out” of the award indicia 506. In thefirst bonus screen 500 a, the only remaining award indicia 506 aidentifies a 250 credit award. In the second bonus screen 500 b, theonly remaining award indicia 506 b identifies a 25 credit award. In thethird bonus screen 500 c, the only remaining award indicia 506 cidentifies a 500 credit award. No award indicia 506 remain in the fourthbonus screen 500 d. Thus, the total community award is 775 credits, asdisplayed in the Everyone Wins regions 512 a-512 b.

The bonus sequence of the Mr. Monopoly figure 900 pulling the lever canbe presented sequentially or simultaneously. For example, a first bonussequence is presented above the first player and, when the first bonussequence is over, a second bonus sequence is presented above the secondplayer. A third bonus sequence and a fourth bonus sequence can besimilarly presented, respectively, over a third player and a fourthplayer. Alternatively, all four bonus sequences can be presentedgenerally in the same time.

Multiple players can contribute to the community award multiple times.For example, if the first player's last pick is a second Everyone Winssymbol, the first player can further contribute to the community award.Another set of Mr. Monopoly bonus sequences, triggered by the revealingof the second Everyone Wins symbol, can further add to the currentcommunity award of 775 credits. Similarly, any of the other players canfurther contribute to the community award by revealing further EveryoneWins symbols.

Referring to FIG. 10, another community bonus game is a Railroad Bonusgame. The Railroad bonus game can be triggered, for example, by aRailroad Bonus symbol or a combination of three Railroad Bonus symbolsappearing in a community event (e.g., Mr. Monopoly's Big Money Spin).According to another example, the triggering event can be the RailroadBonus symbol landing on a Railroad property of the Monopoly® board whileconducting a Monopoly® theme game.

When triggered, the display screens 404, 406 transition to a top view ofa train yard, featuring properties 1000 that are separated by railroadtracks 1002. The properties 1000 are of different types and haveassociated credit values. The players are awarded one or more picks froman array of Monopoly Cards (not shown), which is generally similar tothe array of selectable element 522 of FIGS. 5A-5B. Each pick results ina Property type and a Special Bonus Multiplier. In one embodiment, eachplayer is awarded a single pick from an array of Monopoly® cards.

The Special Bonus Multiplier is applicable only to the respective playerand multiplies an individual award that is awarded to the respectiveplayer. The Big Event Multiplier, which is shown in the multiplierindicator 530, is also applicable only to the respective player, butmultiplies a community award that is awarded to each of the players. Anexample of the two multipliers and their effect on the respective awardsis provided below.

According to the illustrated example, the current pick of the firstplayer has resulted in a First Property type and a 5× Special BonusMultiplier, and the current pick of the second player has resulted in aSecond Property type and a 3× Special Bonus Multiplier. Similarly, thecurrent pick of the third player has resulted in a Third Property typeand a 2× Special Bonus Multiplier, and the current pick of the fourthplayer has resulted in a Fourth Property type and a 3× Special BonusMultiplier.

Referring to FIG. 11, a train (not shown) enters at an entry point 1100and moves along the railroad tracks 1002, turning randomly in differentdirections at each railroad junction. The train has a locomotive and aplurality of compartment cars. The train continues to move, asillustrated by the arrows, until the locomotive collides with one of thecompartment cars at a collision point 1102, which ends the bonus.

All eligible players are awarded the sum of all the values encircled bythe train. If a player's Property type was encircled, the player isawarded the value of the encircled property multiplied by the SpecialBonus Multiplier.

Referring to the illustrated example, the train has encircled fourproperties 1000 a-1000 d, which have a total value of 165 credits.Specifically, a first property 1000 a has an award value of 25 credits,a second property 1000 b has an award value of 5 credits, a thirdproperty 1000 c has an award value of 10 credits, and a fourth property1000 d has an award value of 50 credits. From the encircled properties1000 a-1000 d, only one property matches a Property type of the fourplayers. The first property 1000 a matches the Third Property type ofthe third player. None of the Property types of the other three playersare matched.

The players receive awards in accordance with the encircled properties.All the players receive a community award, which is the total value ofthe encircled properties. The community award is multiplied by the BigEvent multiplier of the respective players. For example, the firstplayer receives the total value of 165 credits, which is multiplied bythe player's 3× Big Event Multiplier, the second player receives thetotal value of 165 credits, which is multiplied by the player's 1× BigEvent Multiplier, and so on.

In addition to the community award, the third player also receives anindividual award because a match has resulted between the Third Propertytype and the third property 1000 c encircled by the train. Theindividual award is the value of 25 credits of the third property 1000 cmultiplied by the 5× Special Bonus Multiplier of the third player.

Thus, in general, the Railroad Bonus game provides one or more randomlyselected community awards (e.g., credit awards of all Propertiesencircled by the train) to all eligible players of the community bonusgame. In addition, in response to any of the randomly selected communityawards being associated with a player's pick (e.g., an encircledProperty having a Property type that matches a Property type selected bythe player), a corresponding individual award is provided to therespective player. Optionally, the total value of the community awardsis multiplied by a player-specific community award multiplier (e.g., theBig Event Multiplier) and/or the total value of the individual awards ismultiplied by a player-specific special multiplier (e.g., the SpecialBonus Multiplier).

According to another embodiment, a player may be paid a secondary bonusamount based on a unit of time, such as, for example, 100 credits forevery second that a bonus round lasts. For example, a community gameincludes a feature in which a player may be eliminated while otherplayers continue to play the community game. After being eliminated fromthe community game, the eliminated player returns to playing the basegame on his or her gaming machine.

However, as long as the community game continues (without the eliminatedplayer), a timer informs the eliminated player how much of a secondarybonus he or she is earning as a “consolation prize.” Thus, although theeliminated player is no longer participating in the community game, theeliminated player continues to earn or accumulate a secondary bonusaward until the community event ends. The longer the community game, thegreater the secondary bonus award. The award can be any type of award,including credits, multipliers, game plays, etc.

Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplatedas falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, whichis set forth in the following claims.

1. A method for conducting a community event in which a plurality ofplayers at respective gaming terminals are participating, the methodcomprising: displaying the community event on one or more displays;displaying a plurality of player-selectable elements for eachparticipating player on at least one of the one or more displays, theplayer-selectable elements including elements of a first type and asecond type; in response to any participating player selecting anelement of the first type, using a controller to award an individualaward associated with the selected element of the first type only to theselecting player; and in response to any participating player selectingan element of the second type, using a controller to award a communityaward associated with the selected element of the second type to allparticipating players.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the individualaward and the community award are in form of one or more of a creditaward, a multiplier, and game play.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing each participating player with a predeterminednumber of selections.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein eachparticipating player receives a plurality of individual awards inaccordance with selections made by the respective participating player.5. The method of claim 3, wherein each participating player receives aplurality of community awards in accordance with selections made by allparticipating players.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein eachparticipating player receives a total award that is the sum of theindividual award and the community award.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising awarding another community award in response toanother participating player selecting another element of the secondtype.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising awarding anothercommunity award in response to the participating player selectinganother element of the second type.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe community award is randomly selected from a group of communityawards displayed on the one or more displays.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising: randomly selecting a first community award from afirst group of community awards associated with a first participatingplayer; and randomly selecting a second community award from a secondgroup of community awards associated with a second participating player;wherein both the first community award and the second community awardare randomly selected in response to the participating player selectingthe element of the second type, the community award being the sum of thefirst community award and the second community award.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising revealing the individual award upon theplayer selecting the element of the first type.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the plurality of selectable elements are displayed in theform of an array.
 13. The method of claim 1, further includingtriggering the community event while the plurality of participatingplayers are playing wagering games at the respective gaming terminals.14. A gaming system for playing a community event in which a pluralityof players at respective gaming terminals are participating, comprising:one or more displays for displaying the community event thereon, thecommunity event including a plurality of player-selectable elementshaving elements of a first type and a second type; and at least onecontroller in communication with the one or more displays, thecontroller being operative to in response to any participating playerselecting an element of the first type, award an individual awardassociated with the selected element of the first type only to theselecting player, and in response to any participating player selectingan element of the second type, awarding a community award associatedwith the selected element of the second type to all participatingplayers.
 15. The gaming system of claim 14, wherein the individual awardand the community award are selected from a group consisting of a creditaward, a multiplier award, and a game play award.
 16. The gaming systemof claim 14, wherein a predetermined number of selections is displayedon each of the one or more displays, the predetermined number beingspecific to each participating player.
 17. The gaming system of claim14, wherein the plurality of player-selectable elements are displayed inthe form of an array, the array being displayed on the community eventand on each of the one or more displays.
 18. The gaming system of claim14, wherein at least one of the individual award and the community awardis a mystery award.
 19. The gaming system of claim 14, wherein thecontroller is further operative to, in response to the selecting of theelement of the second type, randomly select the community award from agroup of awards displayed on the community display.
 20. The gamingsystem of claim 19, wherein the group of awards includes a set of awardsdisplayed for each of the participating players, the community awardhaving a total value including at least one award randomly selected fromeach of two or more sets of awards.
 21. A computer program productcomprising a computer readable medium having an instruction set bornethereby, the instruction set being configured to cause, upon executionby a controller, the acts of: displaying on one or more displays acommunity event in which plurality of players at respective gamingterminals are participating; displaying on at least one of the one ormore displays a plurality of player-selectable elements for eachparticipating player, the player-selectable elements including elementsof a first type and a second type; in response to any participatingplayer selecting an element of the first type, awarding an individualaward associated with the selected element of the first type only to theselecting player; and in response to any participating player selectingan element of the second type, awarding a community award associatedwith the selected element of the second type to all participatingplayers.
 22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein theindividual award and the community award are in form of one or more of acredit award, a multiplier, and game play.
 23. The computer programproduct of claim 21, further comprising awarding to each participatingplayer a total award that is the sum of the individual award and thecommunity award.
 24. The computer program product of claim 21, furthercomprising awarding another community award in response to anotherparticipating player selecting another element of the second type. 25.The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising awardinganother community award in response to the participating playerselecting another element of the second type.
 26. The computer programproduct of claim 21, further comprising randomly selecting the communityaward from a group of community awards displayed on the one or moredisplays.